Travelling to Toronto is always a big deal for me... I grew up in the country... I love the country... I love the wildlife, the grass under my feet, the space... that's not to say that I'm a redneck, but I have saltwater in my veins and a zealous appreciation for Creation (and the Creator). Anyways, Toronto makes me hyperventilate... too many people, pushing and shoving, weird smells... I generally feel like I have to shower when I get home. All that being said, it was quite an adventure trying to get to Indigo for Friday night, navigating the (non-wheelchair friendly) Go train, Union Station, and the subway during rush hour. Ugh... only for the Harlot would I dare such a feat.
The anticipation was killing me and I just about burst as I walked in the door. I couldn't believe how many people were there!!! It was incredible!!! It was wonderful to be part of such a large fellowship of knitters, but I was also really glad for the YarnHarlot. What a victory for her - a great turnout for her hometown. I wanted her to be blessed... and indeed, she was... who could stand in the midst of so many affirming, beautiful knitters and not be??? I know I was! And I was in the peanut gallery!
Her humour was unforgettable! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time! I loved her explanation of CHOKE - Cultural Humilation of Knitters Everywhere... how we struggle against so many stereotypes and judgements. As I was standing close to the store entrance, it was pretty freaky to witness people's reactions as they came in, responding in very a CHOKE-like manner, oblivious that they were the visual aids! It was worth a good snicker amongst those of us stuck on the balcony.
Indigo was completely overwhelmed. YarnHarlot has posted repeatedly how bookstores never believe many people will come. In Toronto, two celebrities from HGTV were presenting the night before and that was supposed to be a big deal... She wanted to see if she could at least beat out those guys. I heard that they ended up with just 30 and she had about 300!!!! Indeed! 300 supporters crammed into every nook and cranny of the store! The staff were scrambling for chairs... velvet rope to section of areas... it was chaos for them! And most of us were snickering on the inside... some on the outside... :) I loved how the staff kept coming over and telling the group of us that we weren't allowed to sit on the stairs... it was a fire hazard. I love it!! Knitters are a fire hazard!! That's amazing.
From my vantage point, this was all I could see between the slats of the railing...
Nice, eh? Well, I could hear her and that was most important. I took a peak around to try to capture the scope of knitters....
the place was crawling with them! It was filthy with knitters!
While waiting to have our book signed, we noticed Swatchy and had to introduce ourselves. (there's a pic of me and the kids! Jaden is seriously debating taking Swatchy home!) Swatchy is not just unbelievably cute... but Swatchy has a good heart... someone Swatchy loves very much suffers from CFS and so Swatchy goes out into the world, and then carries back the tales of the adventures had. I love that. I mean it... I really love it. Having a hubby with MD has opened my eyes to many things that I have never thought of... such as the sinking pit he feels everytime he is faced with a flight of stairs, little things like having to bend over to pick up a dropped coin or put on shoes... What Swatchy represents - kindness, sharing with one another, carrying one another's burdens - that's pretty cool. And being a cutie doesn't hurt either. ;)
Noricum was Swatchy's chaperon for the night. She's a ray of sunshine. Gotta like anyone who wears a frog shirt. She's holding on to her hat to donate for StreetKnits... part of YarnHarlot's plan in the Represent Tour. Not just show up en force... but make a difference in the process. btw... love noricum's hat... fun pompom action going on there.
Oh... Hannah and I brought hats too, but I forgot to take a picture of them. Rats. You can see them on YarnHarlot's site. One is 4th from the bottom left - a cream colour chunky 2x2 rib, and the other is a little to the right and up from centre - it's pink and fuscia. Ok... I admit... I was using up my stash. The rib hat was intentionally using up some yarn I picked up at a yard sale, started knitting with it, but hated it. However, using 4 strands together gave it this awesome spongy texture. Didn't hurt that it used up 4 of the 10 balls I have! Regardless... May whomever wears these hats know that there is a knitter praying for them, that their hearts would find their true home.
There are many things that I admire about Stephanie, one being she's a doula as well. In chatting with her during the signing, it was so cool to connect with her on that level... show off my homebirthed babies. You know how it is, when you share one thing about yourself and it fills in a lot of blanks. One word speaks volumes. "Doula" is one of those things... it speaks of the joy of (home)birthing, babies, breastfeeding, embracing who we were created to be... tack on being knitters, and the connection is that much cooler.
When it was time for signing, she announced that those "with babies in their bodies, or outside their bodies and with them" could jump the line. That was very cool. And not just because I got to jump the line. ;) When I asked for a photo, she said "Sure! Got your sock?" Out came Grumperina! They look lovely together.
I'm sure I could ramble on about the evening... it was just so incredible. I'm still "full" a week later. But I better call it a night... tomorrow is our Family Vacation Day! Woo Hoo!
2 comments:
Oh, you were up on the stairs! That's so great to see your vantage point. I managed to get a chair down below...but then I didn't think to ask Stephanie to hold my sock, woe! Oh well. Another time perhaps ;) Nice recap.
I just found this post. Thanks for the lovely comments!
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